The Quiraing, Isle of Skye

This has got to be my favourite place in the world - the Quiraing on the Isle of Skye:

Yours truly walking The Quiraing

Of all the sacred and beautiful places I have visited, none have captured my imagination more than the Quiraing. Located on the north-east slopes on the island's Trotternish Peninsula, this magnificent landscape is the result of a massive Jurassic landslide!

Whilst much of the Quiraing has now settled, parts of the land here is still on the move at a rate of nearly 3cm a year. The A855 road beneath it needs regular repair work as a result of this continued activity.

The Quiraing takes its name from the old Norse 'Kvi Rand', meaning 'Round Fold' and it is believed that farmers used to hide their cattle amongst the dips and valleys here during Viking attacks of the island. 

In such surroundings, it comes as no surprise that this is believed to be the meeting place for the fae.

Dragons, too, are said to fly over this land, resting on the mighty crags that decorate The Quiraing like Tolkienesque mountains.

On my walk through The Quiraing I saw neither fae nor dragon, but I did see this standoff between a large Buzzard and a sheep at the summit of the above crag!

The magickal sights to be had in The Quiraing have been used to great effect in many movies, including Stardust, Macbeth, The Land That Time Forgot, The BFG, 47 Ronin and Snow White and the Huntsman.

Walking The Quiraing is a real pleasure and the route has lots of places to stop and chill and just take in the breathtaking land about you.

Whilst the walk is not too energetic, there are a couple of spots to be mindful of, with some sheer drops to the edge of the path. 

All that is required here, however, is to concentrate on the path ahead and not be distracted by the sheer beauty about and around you, and you will be fine.

Skye is, without doubt, the jewel in the crown, of Scotland. And The Quiraing is the finest jewel set in that crown! If you are thinking of paying this area a visit, trust me, you will not be disappointed :)

Editing...

Getting lazy. Editing my novel in bed this morning.

The Fairy Glen, Isle of Skye

For our first outing on the Isle of Skye, we headed out to the remarkable Fairy Glen, located on the Trotternish Peninsula, near Uig.

This is a unique and remarkable place, abrim with grassy conical hills, rounded hillocks, gurgling streams, lochans, spirals carved into the landscape and a craggy outcrop that appears to all like the ruins of an ancient castle. It really is a wondrous magical place to explore.

The magickal Fairy Glen, near Uig

'Castle Ewen', viewed from the nearby lochan

There is little in the way of legends or folklore attached to the Fairy Glen, but its very appearance entrances the soul and makes all who visit the place believe that this must be home to the fairy folk.

The Fairy Glen was formed from a Jurassic landslide and appears very much like a mini version of Skye's other magical-looking landscape, The Quiraing. Along with The Quiraing, it is an enchanting place to wander and lose yourself in fanciful thinking.

And like The Quiraing, if you ever get the opportunity to pay a visit to Skye, make sure that you spend at least a little time in this little geological wonderland.

Sheep bones, The Fairy Glen

Neighbour's Cat, Skye

Whilst making an audio recording of the ambient sounds outside our holiday cottage in Skye, I was surprised when I heard this brief capture of our neighbour feeding her Trotternish cat:

Early Morning Editing on the Isle of Skye

Editing Pixie-Led. Chapter 14

Kilt Rock and Mealt Falls, Skye

Kilt Rocked (named as the rock resembles a pleated kilt)

It is said that selkies can sometimes be heard singing at Kilt Rock, on the Isle of Skye.  The singing is often heard carried on the wind from the edge of the cliff overlooking Mealt Falls. Others might argue that the sound is actually produced as the wind travels through the hollow piping, which safeguards visitors to the sight from plunging over the edge of the cliffs!

You can hear my recording of the 'silkies' here and judge for yourself:

On our visit to the Falls, we were blessed with a cool looking rainbow that plunged directly into the sea!

Look carefully and you can see my shadow on the rocks :)

Pixie-Led. Chapter 13. Final Draft. Skye.

The rest of my family had a lay-in after our two-day drive up to Skye. Whilst they snoozed, I spent my first morning in our holiday cottage, which we have for the whole of next week, catching up on some editing of Pixie-Led.

Eilean Donan Castle

Darkness descended before we reached Skye, which was a slight disappointment as I wanted my children to see some of the island before we reached our holiday cottage. Still, it was nice to see illuminated Eilean Donan Castle (our last stop off on our journey) looking ghostly in the Scottish gloom:

Located where three sea lochs meet, Loch Alsh, Loch Duich, and Loch Long, the original castle was built in 13th century by Clan MacKenzie and Clan MacRae to protect them from the Vikings, who controlled much of North-Eastern Scotland at the time.

The castle has a long and blood-thirsty history. In 1719, during the Jacobite risings, the castle came under attack by Government forces. After three days of battle, the English army finally overcame the Jacobite supporters.  The 46 Jacobite soldiers were executed and their decapitated heads stuck on spikes around the castle walls. Over 300 barrels of gunpowder were discovered in the fortress and this was used to demolish the building.  The ghosts of these men have been spotted at the castle, even in recent times. One of the soldiers has been seen carrying his decapitated head in his arms!

The castle was left in ruins for the next 200 years. Then, in 1911, Lt. Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap bought the site and spent the next 20 years rebuilding the castle and construction a stone bridge to connect the island the castle is set upon to the mainland. The castle was completed in 1932.

There is a selkie legend attached to Eilean Donan Castle. Three brothers who were fishing in its lochs became enchanted by the selkies who had stripped from their seal skins to dance naked in the moonlight. The brothers, intending to make brides of the selkies, stole their seal furs, thus forcing the selkies to remain in the human forms. The youngest of the brothers, however, felt sorry for his bride and returned her fur, for which he was rewarded by the selkie's father by allowing him to visit the selkie every ninth night. The other two brothers did not fare so well, as is often the case for those who force their affections upon selkies. The middle brother lost his selkie-wife after she discovered where he had hidden her seal coat and he never saw her again and spent the rest of his life lonely and unloved. The eldest brother, to stop his wife from returning to the loch, decided to burn her seal fur so that she would never find it again. However, when he then returned to his cottage, he found that his wife had burned along with the fur and was but a pile of ashes at the foot of their bed.

The folklore of selkies is particularly fascinating and you can read my own selkie tale in my novella Lore.

Glencoe

We made another quick stop off at Glencoe, again despite the awful rain. Sometimes, however, dire weather conditions and poor light can only add to the drama of the landscape:

Driving through the Scottish Highlands in the heavy rain

Larig Gartain Mountain, Glencoe

Larig Gartain Mountain, Glencoe

A rainy stop-off in Glencoe

A man and his dog taking in the scenes of a rainy Glencoe

Abandoned Shoes, Scottish Highlands

Reaching The Highlands of Scotland on our route to the Isle of Skye, the rain became rather torrential. I couldn't pass this abandoned pair of shoes, however, without getting out of the car to take a quick snap of them:

Rainy Loch Lomond

Despite the wind and rain and cold, we could not pass Loch Lomond without stopping off for a quick exploration of the area. There are stories of a sea monster living in this immense stretch of water, but we did not spot any signs of its existence this afternoon.

On the banks of Loch Lomond

However, we did find something spectacular overlooking the loch - an immense 26 foot wooden pyramid!

The Inveruglas Pyramid, Loch Lomond

The viewing platform on the Inveruglas Pyramid

The structure was designed by Daniel Bar, Stephane Toussaint and Sead Edwards and was officially opened in May 2015.

Yours Truly at Loch Lomond

Painted Doorway, Dumfries

The beautifully painted door of the Dumfries Salvation Army

Over Night Stop Off At Dumfries

Having picked up our daughter in Birmingham, en route to our holiday on the Isle of Skye, we stopped off at Dumfries for the night. The hotel (a Holiday-Inn) was welcoming and we were all welcome for the break in our journey

Art on display at the Dumfries Holiday-Inn

We awoke to the drizzly but serene scene of Crichton Memorial Church.

Crichton Memorial Church, viewed from the Holiday-Inn

It looks like we are in for a wet and windy drive through the Highlands later today. But it will all add to the drama of the scenery and none of us is made of sugar. :)

Birmingham Train Station

March 2, 2019

Waiting to pick my daughter up from Birmingham Train Station...